Such was the New Lothrop softball team's demeanor following a 9-0 Division 4 quarterfinal loss to state power Bay City All Saints Tuesday at Flint Kearsley.

First-team All-State hurler Louise Rezmer stymied the Hornets, tossing a one-hitter while striking out 13. New Lothrop managed a mere four baserunners and none advanced beyond second base.

In the dugout afterward, the Hornets' Kelsey Gasper paused to reflect.

"They are a good team all around and she is a great pitcher," Gasper said. "I thought we played with our best effort today, but what happened, happened. We got our bats going over the last few weeks and stayed in that grove. We started to play well as team and had a pretty good season."

Indeed.

Despite losing six of seven players who earned some type of Genesee Area Conference Blue Division recognition, New Lothrop finished with a 25-13 record, going 19-7 after a 6-6 start. The Hornets captured their second league title in four years and second consecutive district and regional crowns.

They accomplished all of that with just two seniors — Kayla Knieper and Kayla Krupp — on the roster.

"We did face some adversity during the season, but the girls kept working hard and taking a lot of pride in their game," first-year coach Eric Keck said. "They really wanted to put the best product on the field they could. We set some goals before the season and met most of them. We only had two seniors, but their leadership was huge for us."

Knieper helped the Hornets to a 79-29 record during her three varsity seasons.

But New Lothrop's ace was no match for Rezmer, who has been overpowering in the postseason. The junior has pitched five shutouts with a whopping 67 strikeouts in 32 innings, allowing just seven hits.

All Saints (33-7-1) snared a 3-0 lead in the top of the opening inning was never seriously threatened thereafter. The Cougars tacked on two more runs in the fifth and added four more in the sixth.

The Hornets put runners on first and second with a pair of walks in the second. They only other inning in which they reached base was the fourth. Jennifer Birchmeier singled and stole second and Gasper walked before the inning ended with a strikeout.

Rezmer retired New Lothrop's final 10 batters.

"Their pitcher was just dominant, probably the best we've seen all year and it's tough when you have to face that," Keck said. "She brought her 'A' game and they were clearly the better team today."

The Cougars advanced to the semifinals for the second straight year and will face Cassopolis at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Battle Creek's Bailey Park.

"With our pitcher, the bigger the game, the better she becomes," said All Saints coach Brad Walraven, second on the state's all-time victory list with 873 in 29 seasons. "I was a little leery of New Lothrop because I heard they were a good hitting team, but the coaches I talked to also said that was mostly against average-speed pitching. Our pitcher throws with above-average speed."

The game marked the final chapter of New Lothrop's storybook school year in girls athletics. The Hornets were also regional champions in volleyball and state champions in girls basketball. Morley-Stanwood was the only other school in the state which also won regional titles in those three sports.